I'm listed as a beta reader on INAP, Effects... and Hand on Heart. I also beta read for friends (some of whom post here and some of whom don't). I was contacted today by an INAP user asking for a beta reader, I've asked him for details of the kind of story he'd be writing, what pairing etc, and he's replied with an outline of what could be a damn good story. It's just... I don't know if I have time to do it right now.

For someone I already beta for - absolutely, no problem. For someone I've not read before (and to be honest I don't know from Adam) - I'm unsure.

I don't want to let him down, but I also know my own tendancy to take on too many things and joss10k starts this weekend for me. You saw my insane list of ongoing projects the other day.  (And I'm going to start running again to train for a charity race in July). I have a lot on my plate already so theoretically I should say no and apologise to him.

On the other hand, his premise does seem incredibly promising - his emails are thought out (with proper spelling even!) and he seems to be a very nice guy. I want to read his story, is it selfish of me to offer to beta read it when I know I might not have the time to devote to it?

I think what I'm going to have to do is sleep on it, answer him tomorrow one way or the other. Whatever I decide I am not going to be critical of him - it takes courage to reach out to someone you've never spoken to before in this manner and he's been really nice - he even seemed a little surprised that I replied asking for more details.

I suck at decisons.